meditate

With all the scientific evidence coming out in the past several years, meditation is becoming something that can’t be overlooked. As anyone who’s ever played a sport knows, the biggest opponent is always inside. Meditation gives you ways to come to terms with this opponent.

It doesn’t matter what sport you play, any athlete can benefit from the positive benefits of meditation. Meditation research on athletic performance is still very much in its infancy. However, meditation has been shown to help in other areas that could relate to athletic performance.

Every professional coach in the world should be looking at the thousands of studies that have shown the effectiveness of meditation. Phil Jackson, one of the all-time winning coaches in the NBA, has been using meditation for years with his players — he won 11 NBA championships.Here are a few reasons why every athlete should consider meditation.

Meditation helps you focus.
Your focus will determine if you win or lose a game. When you’re at the free throw line, and you’re not focused, you may miss the shot. Why not train your mind to focus? Meditation has been shown to increase states of focus within the brain. Every athlete, no matter what sport they are playing, could work on bettering their focus.

Meditation helps you cope with pain.
There’s an old cliché around professional athletes that no matter what, they’re always dealing with some sort of pain. High endurance sports do a number to your body. Meditation has been shown to help people cope with pain.

Meditation helps you deal with fear.
Fears can hijack our minds from the present moment; this can lead to so many errors in sports. Meditation has been shown to help calm the fear center of the brain known as the amygdala even when you’re not meditating. This information alone is worth millions of dollars to a professional athlete.

Meditation strengthens your immune system.
An athlete cannot afford to be sick; if they’re sick they can’t play. Athletes are always looking at various ways to avoid becoming sick, why not trying meditation? Meditation has been shown to strengthen our immune system.

Meditation reduces our mind from ruminating.
Ever lose a game, miss the game winning shot? Fail hard? We all do. Sometimes it becomes hard to bounce back; we run obsessive thoughts through our mind. Meditation has been shown to reduce rumination; mediation will essentially help us reset are mind to focus on the present.

Meditation makes you resilient.
The greatest athletes in the world are the most resilient; meditation has been shown to help out in this area. Everyone knows you have to fail over and over again until you succeed. Meditation helps you detach yourself from the negative thoughts that keep you from achieving your goals.

Meditation reduces stress.
Athletes are always under stress. They pride themselves on the ability to be in a high stress environment. Why not embrace a practice that has been shown to reduce stress? Incorporating a little bit of meditation before the game could help.

Meditation helps to stabilize emotions.
One study showed that people with more mindful traits are better able to stabilize their emotions and have better control over their moods. The competitive nature of all athletes causes them to have to deal with a roller coaster of different emotions. Why not embrace meditation and uses mindfulness throughout the game?

Meditation helps with sleep.
One night of lost sleep could lose a championship; quality sleep is one of the most valuable things every athlete should have. Meditation has been shown to improve our quality of sleep.

Meditation helps us to see our blind spots.
Athletes train over and over again to perfect their craft. It’s one of the reasons why coaches exist; they are able to help you to see your blind spots. Our blinds sports cause us not to perform well, and meditation has been shown to help recognize our blind spots. By recognizing these blind spots, we can work on becoming better.

Meditation could be that extra edge that helps you win the game-winning point or helps you go the extra mile when you think you can’t. Why not incorporate it into your training regime? It just might make you a better athlete.

One of the greatest tools for happiness and a positive state of mind is meditation, there’s a reason why it’s been used for thousands of years by Eastern cultures.
Over and over again in countless scientific studies, meditation has been shown to strengthen the immune system, lower blood pressure, and build strong positive emotions. I hear people saying all the time, “I would love to do meditation, but I don’t have the time.”

You come home from work, and then all of the sudden your kids are telling you they need to be taken to soccer practice. So you cook them dinner and then rush them to practice. I suggest you develop a strategy of incorporating small two minute meditation’s into your life. Each, day you start fresh, you start with maybe only two minutes and then slowly work yourself up to more.
Meditation will build a strong and resilient brain that will protect you from future episodes of stress. As in any practice it takes discipline, but that discipline will pay off tremendously for the well-being of your health.You can’t expect to try meditation once and all of the sudden be the happiest person in the world. Start with two minutes, then go to five minutes, then to 20 minutes and beyond.

Here’s a Very Simple Meditation

A simple meditation practice is to close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breathing, without trying to control your breathing. Use a non-judgmental awareness when accessing this state.
Here’s four ways you can incorporate a two minute meditation practice into your life

In the Office
Set up a alarm at the same time every day, to remind yourself to do meditation. Then put your phone on silent and close the door. One way to incorporate a practice into your day is to do it at your lunch break. Or you can get to your office a few minutes early and do two to five minutes of meditation for clarity. Another strategy is to become conscious of early stress responses. If you find yourself starting to become stressed at work, immediately slow down and bring your awareness to your breathing.

In the Car
I suggest you find two minutes to do meditation while in a parking lot. Or while your waiting for someone in the car. We spend so much time in our cars and at stop lights. If we just incorporated a few minutes while waiting at a stop light, it would greatly improve our life.

While Waiting
I do meditation all the time while I’m waiting in line at a grocery store. Remember you don’t have to do meditation with your eyes closed all the time. You can do meditation just by bringing your awareness to your breathing while you’re waiting, which will put you in a more centered and balanced state. Try this when ever you’re waiting at the bus stop, while sitting in traffic, or even in the parking lot while you’re waiting to pick someone up.

Before You Go To Bed
I find doing meditation right before bed to be extremely beneficial. It will greatly improve your sleep. I also recommend if you’re having trouble going sleep to get out of bed and do some meditation. Find a time to schedule meditation sessions, and do it every night at the same time.